Robert Eugene Corbett of Gilroy, engineering consultant and long-time Lockheed defense technology executive died peacefully at his home on July 20, 2008. He had been battling colon cancer. Mr. Corbett was born May 9, 1941 in Philadelphia the oldest of eight children of Eugene Charles and Dolores Marie Hoffmann. He was an electrical engineer who worked the first half of his career in space power systems development, principally with Lockheed Missiles and Space in Sunnyvale, California and then the next half of his career in commercial lighting with several leading firms including Motorola, International Rectifier, Boeing and Magnetek. He finally launched an engineering and technology consulting firm in the last six years specializing in advanced lighting products for consumer and industrial applications. He and colleagues had recently been granted U.S.patent 7,375,476 for a pioneering lighting device.
Mr. Corbett earned an M.S., Electrical Engineering from Santa Clara University and a B.S. in physics from St. Joseph’s College, Philadelphia, PA. He was recently awarded lifetime membership in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, where he served in leadership positions in the Power Electronics Society.
A man of many interests he enjoyed the outdoors, including gardening, raising a fruit and nut orchard, mountain and seaside hiking and contributing to nature preservation and environmental causes. He also was interested in language, literature, science and technology, philosophy and religion.
Mr. Corbett is survived by his wife of 39 years, Kimiko; a son, Stephen Robert, a U.S. Navy Petty Officer; and six brothers and a sister – Dr. Eugene Charles and wife Susan of Palmyra, VA; Anne Dolores of Sunnyvale; Charles Edward and wife Charlotte of Northville, MI; Gerard Francis and wife Di Wang of San Bruno; Cornelius Philip of St. Helena, CA; Joseph Frances and wife Anastasia of Norwichtown, CT; and John Paul of Santa Clara, CA.
A viewing will be held at the Habing Family Funeral Home in Gilroy from 6-8 pm on Sunday July 27. A Requiem Mass will be held at 10:00 A.M. Monday, July 28, 2008 at Mission San Juan Bautista in San Juan Bautista followed by the burial at St Mary Cemetery in Gilroy. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in his memory to one or all of the following organizations: Hospice of the Valley, the Sisters of Saint Joseph (Chestnut Hill, PA), The Nature Conservancy, The IEEE Foundation and KQED Public Radio and Television.
